Anteroom 1985

North American premiere of Saburo Teshigawara's Sleeping Water was brought to New York City by the Lincoln Center Festival, performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall July 13-15, 2017. I was fortunate to attend the opening night performance. Teshigawara, whose background includes the study of plastic arts and classic ballet, did the choreography, set design, lighting design, and costume design for this work. This is understandable as lighting, sets, and costumes were all integral parts of the performance. understated flowing black costumes contributed to the flow, as did the music and the lighting, varieties of spot light formations. One particularly interesting lighting choice was floor level spotlights, lit from the sides of the stage in lines of light across the stage. As the dancers moved through them, there was a strobe effect. The backdrop was black. There were, at certain moments, objects that descended, catching the lights, but never hitting the floor. 1985, Teshigawara formed KARAS. Evidently, Sleeping Water is entirely his creation.